Spinning speed, polymer fibers

Flow processes iaside the spinneret are governed by shear viscosity and shear rate. PET is a non-Newtonian elastic fluid. Spinning filament tension and molecular orientation depend on polymer temperature and viscosity, spinneret capillary diameter and length, spin speed, rate of filament cooling, inertia, and air drag (69,70). These variables combine to attenuate the fiber and orient and sometimes crystallize the molecular chains (71). 

Tensile Properties. Tensile properties of nylon-6 and nylon-6,6 yams shown in Table 1 are a function of polymer molecular weight, fiber spinning speed, quenching rate, and draw ratio. The degree of crystallinity and crystal and amorphous orientation obtained by modifying elements of the melt-spinning process have been related to the tenacity of nylon fiber (23,27). 

UCON is a random copolymer of ethylene oxide (EO) and propylene oxide (PO) and can be considered as a synthetic oil. POE is poly(oxyethylene), which is a homopolymer of EO. Random EO-PO copolymers are typical of synthetic oils used as lubricants in textile processing (53, 54). PLURONICS (BASE) are block copolymers of EO and PO. Both of these copolymers can be produced with viscosities ranging from that of a thin oil to that of a thick paste. Oils of appropriate viscosity give hydrodynamic lubrication in the high-speed spinning of synthetic fibers. The hydrophile-lipophile balance (HLB) in these polymers can be varied, by changing the EO-PO composition, to suit the aqueous solubility requirements. 

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